“Cantus sounded 50 voices strong. Wonderful." --Los Angeles Times
Hailed as "the premier men's vocal ensemble in the United States" by Fanfare, the nine singers of Cantus enjoy a vigorous schedule of national tours, subscription concerts in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, exciting collaborations, innovative residencies, outreach programs, and recordings. Rehearsing and performing without conductor or music director, Cantus is known for adventurous thematic programming spanning many periods and genres, including early, classical, and contemporary works, oratorio, art song, folk and world music, spirituals, and pop. The Washington Post called the singers' sound "beaming and elastic" and referred to their music-making as "spontaneous grace." Stereophile Magazine declared: "the sound is simply astonishing — aural teleportation."
Cantus tours have included performances throughout the United States, Canada, Africa, and Europe. The ensemble has appeared as a special guest with the Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, and has a long-standing performing relationship with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Cantus has sung to great acclaim at many top-rate festivals and venues, including Library of Congress, Merkin Hall, San Francisco Performances, Oregon Bach Festival, and Spivey Hall, to name a few. Frequently heard on public radio stations nationwide, on Christmas Day 2006, Cantus was chosen to represent the United States in a 24-hour marathon of music broadcast in 27 countries via American Public Media and the European Broadcasting Union.
A founding member of the Male Choir Commissioning Consortium, the ensemble has commissioned many new works from composers including Lee Hoiby, Steven Sametz, Kenneth Jennings, Peter Hamlin, Edie Hill, and Mike McFerron. In addition to these new pieces, much of Cantus' music is composed and arranged by its members. The group's Music For Men's Voices choral series is published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company.
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